Window-gleaner



yl?.1vIUL15mR1\I. WINDOW CLEANER.

(No Model.)

Patented Peb. 4, 1896,

| I I IWI lift. lllrll.

ANDREW RGRAHAM. PHDTO'LmiD. WASP KGTUNJJ-C UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PATRICK MULHERN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

WINDOW-CLEAN ER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 554,077, dated February4, 1896.

Application filed March 27, 1895.

To all whom it may concern,.-

Be it known that I, PATRICK MULHERN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Vindow-Cleaners, ofwhich the following is a specication, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, which are made a part hereof, and in which-Figures 1 and 2 are elevations, viewed from different positions, of awindow-cleaner embodying the invention. Fig. 3 is a plan view thereof. Y

The object of the present invention is to provide an improved device bywhich a person may stand inside of a building and wash the outside ofthe windows, and in accomplishing this object I have provideda devicewhich comprises a base adapted to rest upon and to be secured to thewindow-sill, a carriage which is adapted to be moved upon Vthe base inthe direction of the length of the window-sill, a support for the wipercarried by the carriage and adapted to be oscillated upon a horizontalaxis, and means carried by the carriage for moving the wiper.

The invention consists in the features of novelty that are particularlypointed out in the claims hereinafter, and in order that it may be fullyunderstood I will describe it with reference to the drawings in whichthe base of the apparatus is shown at 1. It is provided with a clampconsisting of a depending arm 2 adapted to engage the window-sill on theoutside, an adjustable arm 3, and a clamping-screw 4 fitting a threadedopening in the arm 3. It is the intention that the arms 2 and 3 shall beplaced at such distance apart that they will easily admit thewindow-sill between them, and when so placed the arm 3 is secured bymeans of a nut 5 fitting upon a screw 6 that is fixed to the base andpasses through a slot 7 in the bracket; but the invention is not limitedto this particular means for adjustably securing the arm 3 to the base.When these arms are once adjusted to receive sills of a given widththeir adjustment is not again disturbed, the clamping being done by thescrew 4.

serial No. 543,363. No model.)

Y The object of the base 1 is to support and guide the movable carriageby which the mechanism for operating the wiper is carried, and to thisend it is provided with suitable tracks or ways for said carriage tomove upon. As shown in the drawings, the tracks or ways consist ofplates S each having a slot 9, through which slots passes the plate 10which forms the foundation of the carriage. In order to confine thecarriage to a rectilinear movement, plates 10 or their equivalents aresecured to the plate 10 in positions to engage the sides of the ways 8.Carried by the carriage is an arm 11, to which is fulcrumed, so as to becapable of oscillating, a support 12 having provision for receiving thestem 13 of the wiper 14. As shown in the drawings, this support consistsof a plate having at its ends laterally-projectingportions 15 providedwith openings through which the stem 13 passes and is adapted to movefreely endwise, and the wiper consists of a brush; but a sponge or anyother cleaning device is included in the term wiper as used in thisspecification.

16 is a bell-crank lever fulcrumed to the carriage at 17. One of itsarms 18 is connected by a link 19 with the oscillating support 12, andits other arm, 20, serves as a handle by which it may be moved upon itsfulcrum.4

By moving this bell-crank lever in the appropriate direction the wiper14 may be moved into or out of contact with the pane.

21 is an arm carried by the carriage, and 22 is a shaft j ournaled inthe bifurcated portion 23 of this 4arm and having a crank-handle 24 anda pinion 25. Journaled in this bifurcated portion of the arln is also adrum 26, upon the shaft of which is a pinion 27, meshing with the pinion25.

28is a cord, cable, or other suitable device secured at one end to thedrum 2G, whence it passes under a pulley 29 and thence to the upper endof the stem 13, to which it is secured. 30 is a similar cord secured atone end to the drum 26, whence it passes over a pulley 31 and thence tothe lower end of the stem 13, to which it is secured. These cords l orcables are rove around the drum in opposite directions, so that as oneof them is wound upon it the other is unwound, and in this way,

by sim ply turning the crank-shaft 22 one way or the other, the wipermay be moved up or down.

The gearing 25 '127 is interposed between the crank-handle :24 and drum2G for the purpose Y of multiplying the movement; but this same resultcan be accomplished by simply increasing the size of the drum.

If desired, the carriage'may be moved from side to side of the window bysimply exerting a pressure upon it with the hand; but I prefer toprovide the apparatus with a mechanical appliance for accomplishing thisresult. To this end I journal in the base of the apparatus a shaft 32,having at one end a crank-handle and at the other end a drum 34, and Icon neet this drum with the carriage by means of cords or cables 30,arranged similarly to the cords or cables 2S and 30. The cord 35 issecured at one end to the drum 34:, whence it passes over a pulley 87,and thence to the carriage, to which it is secured at 3S. The cord 36 issecured at one end to the drum, whence it passes over a pulley 39, andthence to the carriage, to which it is secured at 40. These cords arerove around the drum in opposite directions, so that as one is woundupon it the other is nnwound, and hence by simply turning thecrank-handle in one direction and the other the carriage is moved fromsideto side of the window.

S0 far as I am aware I am the first to conw struct a device of thischaracter in which the wiper is carried at the upper end of an uprightstem that is capable of being moved endwise in order to move the wiperup and down over the surface to be cleaned.

I am aware that it has been proposed to construct a window cleaner withan upright which extends from the windowstill upward to the highestpoint to which it is desired that the wiper shall travel, and to mountupon this upright a movable carriage by which the 'wiper is supported;but this is not the equiva lent of a wiper carried at the upper end ofan endwise movable stem, such as I have shown and described. Oneadvantage of the latter construction over the former is that the wiperand its stem can be lowered to or below the level of the open window andthus make it very much easier to either put the device in place or takeit down.

Another advantage of my construction is that it is very much simpler andcheaper. I am also the first to construct a window-cleaner withhorizontal ways and a carriage resting thereon and adapted to move fromone side of the window to the other for the purpose of producing thesidewise movement of the wiper. I therefore desire to have it understoodthat in its broadest aspect myinvention is not limited to the particularmeans shown in the drawings for producing the up-anddown movements ofthe wiper-stem or the sidewise movements of the carriage by which saidstem is supported.

The essential features of the invention are, first, means for moving thewiper up and down; secondly, means for moving it toward and from thewindow-pane, and, thirdly, means for moving it from side to side of thewindow-pane, these three movements being necessary in order thateverypart of the pane may be reached and cleaned. I prefer to constructthe apparatus for producing these movements precisely as shown in thedrawing; but it is manifest that to a skilled mechanic many differentforms of mechanism for accomplishing the same result would readilysuggest themselves.

Having thus described my invention, the following is what I claim as newtherein and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

l. In a window-cleaner the combination with a wiper having a stem, of anoscillating support in which the stem is movable endwise, means forsustaining the support outside of the window, means for oscillating thesupport and means for moving the stem endwise in its support,substantially as set forth.

2. In a window-cleaner the combination of a wiper having astem, asupport in which the stem is movable endwise, a carriage carrying thesupport, means carried by the carriage for operating the wiper, and abase having ways upon which the carriage is `movable, substantially asset forth.

3. In a window-cleaner the combination of a wiper having a stem, anoscillating support in which the stem is movable endwise, a car riagecarrying the support, means carried by the carriage for moving the stemendwise in its support, means carried bythe carriage for oscillating thesupport, and a base having ways upon which the carriage is movablesubstantially as set forth.

4. In a window-cleaner the combination of a wiper having a stem, asupport for the stem, a carriage carrying the support, means carried bythe carriage for moving the wiper through the medium of its stem, a basehaving ways upon which the carriage is adapted to move, and meanscarried by the base for moving the carriage upon the ways, substantiallyas set forth.

5. In a windowcleaner the combination of a wiper having a stem, asupport for the stem, a carriage carrying the support, means carried bythe carriage for moving the wiper through the medium of its stem, a baseresting upon the sill and having horizontal ways upon which the carriageis adapted to move from side to side of the window, a drum journaled tothe base, means for turning the drum, connections between the drum andcarriage whereby the latter is moved when the drum is turned,substantially as set forth.

G. In a window-cleaner the combination of IOO IIO

a Wiper having a stem, L support for the stem, a carriage carrying thesupport, means carried by the carriage for moving the Wiper through themedium of its stem, a base having ways upon Which the Carriage isadapted to move, a drum journaled to the base, means for turning thedrum, cords each secured at one end to the carriage and at the other endto the drum around which they are rove in opposite directions, andpulleys, j ournaled to 1o the base, over which the cords are trained,substantially as set forth.

' PATRICK MULHERN. Vitnesses:

L. M. HOPKINS, J AMES MULHERN.

